Letter to the Editor - Jan. 17, 2013

Thursday

Jan 17, 2013 at 3:15 AM

To the editor: President Obama’s recent picks for Secretary of Defense-Chuck Hagel and Secretary of State-John Kerry call into question Obama’s judgment and wisdom and his ability to lead this country.

Chuck Hagel opposed the successful troop surge in Iraq and he wants to prematurely pull troops out of Afghanistan. He believes in placating Communist Cuba and wants to negotiate with the terrorist organizations Hamas and Hezbollah. Hagel is committed to negotiating with Iran on its nuclear development program. He wants to make dramatic cuts to our military, which will weaken our national security posture. Hagel will be in lockstep with Obama and will continue the policies of appeasement.

John Kerry, a decorated Vietnam War veteran with medals that Swift Boat commanders stated he did not deserve, will march to Obama’s tune of appeasement. Kerry, in Congressional hearings, turned on his fellow Vietnam War veterans. He could be another apologist for the Obama administration.

As a former Navy enlisted man and officer I question the ability of the Obama/Hagel/Kerry threesome to lead this country from a position of strength in the world. I do not have confidence in the capabilities of these key individuals to promote our national security.

Donald A. Moskowitz

Londonderry

To the editor: In response to Mr. Gessis’ letter charging the President with hypocrisy because he was told that “neither one (of his sons, age 22 and 24) can be covered by (his) health insurance even though supposedly those under 26 could be covered under ObamaCare,” I was curious enough to check out why this might be. This is what I discovered:

Extending Coverage for Young Adults. Under the law, young adults will be allowed to stay on their parents’ plan until they turn 26 years old (in the case of existing group health plans, this right does not apply if the young adult is offered insurance at work). Check with your insurance company or employer to see if you qualify. Effective for health plan years beginning on or after September 23.

Sometimes I think that people have a negative reaction to the Affordable Care Act because they may not fully understand what it is. I would suggest for those that do have questions, they check out this website: http://www.healthcare.gov/law/timeline/full.html There they will find a complete, easy-to-read overview of the key features of the Affordable Care Act by year.

Sandra D. Gagne

Rochester

To the editor: The U.S. is in financial trouble and the politicians are to blame. There are 192 countries in the world and we give foreign aid to 160 of them. Many would like to see our downfall like Venezuela, run by dictator Chevez, who makes hundreds of millions each year selling his Citgo gas in this country.

We also give foreign aid to China.

Why don’t we stop this foreign aid and put the money in the social security fund which should be given to qualified recipients only and not for the government to use at it’s discretion.

Why don’t we cut the salaries of the politicians. They just sit around all day long trying to figure out how to put the shaft to the average worker so they can pocket more themselves.

Politicians should not get a pension after serving one or two terms. They should have to work 20 years just like any other federal retiree. Also, term limits should be strictly enforced in all states. People like John Bonehead, Harry Reid, Mitch O’Connell and Nancy Baloney should have been gone long ago.

We don’t need 435 people in the House of Representatives. It should be cut down to 250. The government grows bigger every year. There’s no need for that.

There are many ways to cut back without putting the shaft to the average worker. These are just a couple of suggestions.

Wayne Packard

Somersworth

To the editor: In the aftermath of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. we’ve heard from commentators in the news media, politicians, gun control advocates, 2nd Amendment defenders, mental health professionals, school officials, lawyers, video game experts and public safety officials. All agree that more has to be done to protect our school children and each has a prospective solution: more air time for gun control, more information in order to make a decision, stricter gun and ammo laws, better mental health screening, safety committees, someone has to be sued, tone down the violence in children’s games and armed guards in schools.

The individual I have not heard from in the mad media publicity scramble is the security professional. A security professional is an individual who has education, training and experience in the protection of people, property and facilities through the use of a variety of security systems and procedures. He or she identifies and assesses internal and external threats and develops policies, plans, procedures and physical safeguards to counter those threats.

A risk assessment that I conducted of a multitenant office building in a major city included the offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The offices were found to be particularly vulnerable in a number of areas. At a meeting to discuss the results of the audit, the special agent in charge of the division told me, “We are in the business of finding ways to get into buildings not in trying to keep people out.” Law enforcement and fire officers are not always trained and experienced in security practices and few public safety academies have a security component. This is a discomforting situation.

Most of the proposed solutions are one-size-fits-all approaches to school security when in fact each school is unique and should be evaluated individually. Millions of public dollars are spent on nutrition studies and meals programs and failed education initiatives such as No Child Left Behind and Obama’s Race to the Top. School administrators go to extraordinary lengths to ensure that resources are available for individual special needs students yet when it comes to the security of faculty and students, incredibly ordinary measures usually suffice.

Clint Rand

Retired FBI special agent

Thornton

Dear Mr. President,

Unless the United States Constitution has changed since I last read it, one of the divisions of power is the Executive Branch, not the I Branch.

It rang alarming to me when you were speaking with a meetinghouse-type group saying repeatedly ‘I’ (the pronoun), don’t intend to take guns away from certain sectors. It just doesn’t sound right. Executive orders be-damned, that’s serious messing with the very fabric of the US Constitution.

And all this time I thought The Executive BRANCH ( v. dictatorship, Crown, etc.), enforced laws written by the Legislative BRANCH and interpreted by the Judicial BRANCH of government.

Oh, silly me, it’s probably only a Freudian slip, but I will sharpen my words when I hear My Subjects, from My Liege. And let’s not let this get to the it-depends-on-what-your-definition-of-is-is thing.

Respectfully,

Bruce C. Bacon

(the v. should be in italics)

countdown:

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Bruce C, Bacon

town:

Rochester

I read with some interest and not a little amusement the story from Foster’s of Friday, January 11 regarding Durham’s “proliferation of stop signs.” Henry Smith was quoted as saying he was unhappy with the stop signs. Mr.Smith has evidently never walked a dog or strolled the streets of Durham for if he had he’d be as frustrated as I as I witness motorists driving well-over any 25 or 30 posted speed limits in residential neighborhoods. We live on Madbury Road, or more appropriately Madbury “Raceway”. There are times I have to shy away from the curb as trucks (not allowed) and cars tear by us. In the past I have written Mr. Selig and Chief Kurz on a number of occasions to erect speed tables as they have in other parts of town, or even lower the speed limit from 30 to 25, though I doubt that would do any good. Because there are no other intersections on our strip of Madbury other than the one where Emerson comes in, a stop sign or two would not be called for. So, unlike Mr. Smith, I’m FOR a proliferation of stop signs and any other devices that will make it safer and more pleasurable to be a pedestrian in Durham and I commend the town for being aware of citizen concerns in this regard.